Stacked semiconductor package having electrical connections of varying heights between substrates, and semiconductor device including the stacked semiconductor package

ABSTRACT

A stacked semiconductor package has a first semiconductor package including a first package substrate and a first semiconductor chip mounted on the first package substrate, a second semiconductor package including a second package substrate and a second semiconductor chip mounted on the second package substrate, and a plurality of connections electrically connecting the first and second semiconductor packages. The connections are disposed on an outer region of the first package substrate outside the first semiconductor chip. The connections are disposed along opposite first longer sides and opposite shorter second sides of the first package substrate. The heights of those connections disposed along each longer first side gradually vary from a central to an outer region (i.e., the ends) of the longer first side.

PRIORITY STATEMENT

This is a Continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser.No. 13/240,515, filed Sep. 22, 2011, which claims the benefit of KoreanPatent Application No. 10-2010-0100327, filed on Oct. 14, 2010, in theKorean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND

The inventive concept relates to semiconductor devices. Moreparticularly, the inventive concept relates to stacked types ofsemiconductor packages and to methods of manufacturing stacked types ofsemiconductor package.

The smaller and more compact and more functional many of today'selectronic devices are, the more popular they tend to be. Thus, there isa growing demand for smaller, thinner, and lighter semiconductorpackages and for semiconductor chips that have higher capacities, suchas data storage capacities, within a given amount of space. However,there are limitations as to how much capacity a semiconductor chip mayhave within a certain amount of space. Accordingly, stackedsemiconductor packages comprising stacked semiconductor chips or stackedsemiconductor chip packages (e.g., package on package or POPs) are beingactively developed.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the inventive concept, there is provided astacked semiconductor package comprising a first semiconductor package,a second semiconductor package, and a plurality of connectionselectrically connecting the first semiconductor package and the secondsemiconductor package and at least some of which have different heights.The first semiconductor package includes a first package substrate and afirst semiconductor chip mounted on the first package substrate. Thefirst package substrate has lateral first and second sides constitutingthe outer peripheral region thereof and of which the first side islonger than the second side. The second semiconductor package includes asecond package substrate and a second semiconductor chip mounted on thesecond package substrate. The connections are disposed outside the firstsemiconductor chip along an outer peripheral region of the first packagesubstrate which includes the first and second sides. A first group ofthe connections is disposed along the longer first side of the firstpackage substrate as spaced from one another along the longer firstside, and the heights of these connections vary from a central to anouter region of the longer first side.

According to another aspect of the inventive concept, there is provideda semiconductor device comprising a mother board, a plurality ofexternal contact electrodes disposed on the mother board, a firstsemiconductor package, a second semiconductor package, and connectionselectrically connecting the first and second semiconductor packages andat least some of which have different heights. The first semiconductorpackage includes a first package substrate and a first semiconductorchip mounted on the first package substrate. The first package substratehas lateral first and second sides constituting the outer peripheralregion thereof and of which the first side is longer than the secondside. The second semiconductor package includes a second packagesubstrate and a second semiconductor chip mounted on the second packagesubstrate. The connections are disposed outside the first semiconductorchip along an outer peripheral region of the first package substratewhich includes the first and second sides. A first group of theconnections is disposed along the longer first side of the first packagesubstrate as spaced from one another along the longer first side, andthe heights of these connections vary from a central to an outer regionof the longer first side.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of fabricating a stacked semiconductor package, the methodincluding: providing a first semiconductor package including a firstpackage substrate and a first semiconductor chip mounted on the firstpackage substrate; providing a second semiconductor package including asecond package substrate and a second semiconductor chip mounted on thesecond package substrate; forming a plurality of connection portionsbetween an outer region of a top surface of the first package substrateoutside the semiconductor chip and a region of the second packagesubstrate corresponding to the outer region, wherein from among theconnection portions, heights of connection portions disposed along alonger side of the first package substrate are gradually changed from acenter to an outer region of the longer side; and heat treating theconnection portions to stack the second semiconductor package on thefirst semiconductor package.

A method of fabricating a stacked semiconductor package, the methodcomprising: providing a first semiconductor package including a firstpackage substrate and a first semiconductor chip mounted on the firstpackage substrate, providing a second semiconductor package including asecond package substrate and a second semiconductor chip mounted on thesecond package substrate, forming a stack in which the first and secondsemiconductor packages are juxtaposed with a top surface of the firstpackage substrate facing a bottom surface of the second packagesubstrate, and providing a plurality of connections at least some ofwhich have different heights between an outer region of the top surfaceof the first package substrate outside the first semiconductor chip anda region of the bottom surface of the second package substrate alignedwith the outer region in the stack, and subsequently heat treating theconnections to fix the second semiconductor package to the firstsemiconductor package. Specifically, a first group of the connectionsare provided along the longer first side of the first package substrateas spaced from one another along the longer first side, and connectionsof the first group are formed of different heights varying from acentral to an outer region of the longer first side of the first packagesubstrate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The inventive concept will be more clearly understood from the followingdetailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a generic of idealizedform of a stacked semiconductor package to which the inventive conceptis applied;

FIG. 2 is a graph of warpage of a reference surface according to thetemperatures of a lower semiconductor package and an upper semiconductorpackage when a reflow soldering process is performed during thefabricating of the stacked semiconductor package of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a lower semiconductor package of the generic oridealized stacked semiconductor package of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of an upper semiconductor package of the genericor idealized stacked semiconductor package of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a graph of the spacing between the lower semiconductor packageand the upper semiconductor package in a space corresponding to thesection taken along lines I-I′ of FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 6 is a graph of the spacing between the lower semiconductor packageand upper semiconductor package in a space corresponding to the sectiontaken along lines III-III′ of FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the lower semiconductor package of FIG.1 as the result of a reflow soldering process;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the upper semiconductor package of FIG.1 as the result of the reflow soldering process;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a stackedsemiconductor package 1 taken along lines I-I′ of FIGS. 3 and 4,according to the inventive concept;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the stacked semiconductor packageof FIG. 9 taken along lines II-II′ of FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the stacked semiconductor packageof FIG. 9 taken along lines III-III′ of FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the stacked semiconductor packageof FIG. 9 taken along lines IV-IV′ of FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a stackedsemiconductor package taken along lines I-I′ of FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the stackedsemiconductor package of FIG. 13 as taken along lines II-II′ of FIGS. 3and 4;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the stackedsemiconductor package of FIG. 13 as taken along lines III-III′ of FIGS.3 and 4;

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the stackedsemiconductor package of FIG. 13 as taken along lines IV-IV′ of FIGS. 3and 4;

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a stackedsemiconductor package as taken along lines I-I′ of FIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the stackedsemiconductor package 1 of FIG. 17 as taken along lines II-II′ of FIGS.3 and 4;

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the stackedsemiconductor package 1 of FIG. 17 as taken along lines III-III′ ofFIGS. 3 and 4;

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the stackedsemiconductor package 1 of FIG. 17 as taken along lines IV-IV′ of thelower semiconductor package of FIG. 3 and the upper semiconductorpackage of FIG. 4;

FIG. 21 is a graph of intervals between a lower semiconductor packageand a mother board of semiconductor device, according to the inventiveconcept, as taken along a line corresponding to line I-I′ of FIG. 3;

FIG. 22 is a graph of intervals between a lower semiconductor packageand a mother board of semiconductor device, according to the inventiveconcept, as taken along a line corresponding to line III-III′ of FIG. 3;

FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a semiconductordevice according to the inventive concept;

FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of asemiconductor device according to the inventive concept;

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view of still another embodiment of asemiconductor device according to the inventive concept;

FIG. 26 is a flowchart of a method of fabricating a stackedsemiconductor package, according to the inventive concept;

FIG. 27 is a schematic view of an example of a semiconductor moduleincluding a stacked semiconductor package, according to the inventiveconcept;

FIG. 28 is a schematic view of another example of a semiconductor moduleincluding a stacked semiconductor package, according to the inventiveconcept;

FIG. 29 is a schematic view of an example of a memory card employing astacked semiconductor package, according to the inventive concept;

FIG. 30 is a schematic view of an example of an electronic systememploying a stacked semiconductor package, according to the inventiveconcept.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Various embodiments and examples of embodiments of the inventive conceptwill be described more fully hereinafter with reference to theaccompanying drawings. In the drawings, the sizes and relative sizes andshapes of elements, layers and regions shown in section may beexaggerated for clarity. In particular, the cross-sectionalillustrations of the semiconductor devices and intermediate structuresfabricated during the course of their manufacture are schematic and thusthe same element present in different sectional views may not always bedepicted consistently. Also, like numerals are used to designate likeelements throughout the drawings, including through the use ofsuperscripts.

It will also be understood that when an element or layer is referred toas being “on” or “connected to” another element or layer, it can bedirectly on or directly connected to the other element or layer orintervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when anelement or layer is referred to as being “directly on” or “directlyconnected to” another element or layer, there are no interveningelements or layers present.

Other terminology used herein for the purpose of describing particularexamples or embodiments of the inventive concept is to be taken incontext. For example, the terms “comprises” or “comprising” when used inthis specification specifies the presence of stated features orprocesses but does not preclude the presence or additional features orprocesses. The term metal interconnection portion, for example, as usedherein may indicate a patterned metal layer made up of conductivetraces, leads, lands, and/or pads, as would be understood by those inthe art.

Furthermore, spatially relative terms, such as “upper,” and “lower” areused to describe an element's and/or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) and/or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Thus, thespatially relative terms may apply to orientations in use which differfrom the orientation depicted in the figures. Obviously, though, allsuch spatially relative terms refer to the orientation shown in thedrawings for ease of description and are not necessarily limiting asembodiments according to the inventive concept can assume orientationsdifferent than those illustrated in the drawings when in use. Inaddition, the terms “top” or “bottom” as used to describe a surface maynot refer to the orientation depicted in the drawings but may refer toits disposition relative to another element or layer, as would be clearfrom the drawings and context of the written description. For example, a“top” surface of an electrode pad disposed on a substrate may refer tothe surface of the electrode pad that faces away from the substrate eventhough the “top” surface is facing downwardly in the orientation shownin the drawing and is hence the lowermost surface in the orientationdepicted.

A first embodiment of stacked semiconductor package 1 according to theinventive concept will now be described in detail with reference to FIG.1.

The stacked semiconductor package 1 includes a lower semiconductorpackage 10, an upper semiconductor package 20, and a plurality ofconnections 30. The upper semiconductor package 20 is stacked on thelower semiconductor package 10 through the connections 30. Note, for thesake of convenience, FIG. 1 shows idealized shapes of the lowersemiconductor package 10 and the upper semiconductor package 20 as aresult of the inventive concept, e.g., without any warpage in the lowersemiconductor package 10 and the upper semiconductor package 20.

The lower semiconductor package 10, as an example, comprises a lowerpackage substrate 11, a metal interconnection portion 12, a protectiveportion 13, a first semiconductor chip 14, conductive bumps 15, amolding member 16, and external contact electrodes 17.

The lower package substrate 11 may have the form of a rectangular plateof a given thickness so as to have a top surface 111 and a bottomsurface 112, and is of insulating material. In this latter respect, thelower package substrate 11 may be of a conventional stiff resin, aphotosensitive liquid dielectric, a photosensitive dry-film dielectric,a dry (thermally cured) flexible polyimide film, a thermally curedliquid dielectric, a resin-coated copper foil (RCC), a thermoplastic, ora flexible resin. Alternatively, the lower package substrate 11 may beceramic. However, these materials are just examples.

The metal interconnection portion 12 includes first electrode pads 121on the top surface 111 of the lower package substrate 11 and secondelectrode pads 122 on the bottom surface 112 of the lower packagesubstrate 11. Although not illustrated, the first electrode pads 121 areelectrically connected to the second electrode pads 122 through viasextending in/through the lower package substrate 11. Furthermore, atleast one inner interconnection layer may be disposed within the lowerpackage substrate 11 and connected to the vias to route the signals fromthe first electrode pads 121 to the second electrode pads 122 and viceversa.

The metal interconnection portion 12, i.e., the electrode pads 121 and122, may be formed of aluminum or copper. In addition, the major exposedsurfaces of the metal interconnection portion 12 may be plated with tin(Sb), gold (Au), nickel (Ni), or lead (Pb). The metal interconnectionportion 12 can be formed, as is well known in the art per se, by forminga metal layer on the top surface 111 (and bottom surface 112) of thelower package substrate 11 by casting, laminating, or electroplating,and then patterning the metal layer by etching the metal layer.

The protective portion 13 may include a first protection layer 131covering the top surface 111 of the lower package substrate 11 and asecond protection layer 132 covering the bottom surface 112 of the lowerpackage substrate 11. Each layer of the protective portion 13 may beformed of insulating material. For example, each layer of the protectiveportion 13 may be of a solder photoresist that can be patterned byphotolithography.

The first protection layer 131 exposes only a central region of theupper surface of each of the first electrode pads 121. Similarly, thesecond protection layer 132 exposes only a central region of the uppersurface of each of the second electrode pads 122. The structureconstituted by the substrate 11, electrode pads 121 and 122, andprotection layers 131 and 132 is referred to as a solder mask defined(SMD) interconnection line substrate. The stacked semiconductor packagesillustrated in FIGS. 9 through 12 include such SMD-type interconnectionline substrates.

However, the protection layers of the protective portion 13 may exposethe upper surfaces of each of the first electrode pads 121 and thesecond electrode pads 122 in their entirety. The structure soconstituted is referred to as a non-solder mask defined (NSMD)interconnection line substrate. The stacked semiconductor packageillustrated in FIGS. 13 through 16 include NSMD interconnection linesubstrates.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the first semiconductor chip 14 comprises,for example, a photoelectron device, a logic device, a communicationdevice, a digital signal processor, or a system-on-chip. In theillustrated example, the first semiconductor chip 14 is mounted on acentral region of the top surface 111 of the lower package substrate 11.However, the first semiconductor chip 14 may instead be mounted on thebottom surface 112 of the lower package substrate 11.

Also, in the illustrated example, the first semiconductor chip 14 ismounted on the first package substrate 11 using a flip-chip method.However, the first semiconductor chip 14 may instead be mounted on thefirst package substrate 11 by wire bonding. As another alternative, thefirst semiconductor chip 14 may be embedded in the lower packagesubstrate 11, and in this case, the thickness of the lower semiconductorpackage 10 is minimized.

Also, in the illustrated example, the lower semiconductor package 10 hasonly one semiconductor chip. However, the lower semiconductor package 10may have two or more semiconductor chips stacked on each other. In thiscase, one semiconductor chip may be a logic device and anothersemiconductor chip may be a central processing unit (CPU) device, forexample.

The conductive bumps 15 are interposed between the top surface 111 ofthe lower package substrate 11 and the first semiconductor chip 14, andelectrically connect the lower package substrate 11 to the firstsemiconductor chip 14. More specifically, contact pads (not shown)formed on the first semiconductor chip 14 are disposed facing the topsurface 111 of the lower package substrate 11, and the contact pads ofthe first semiconductor chip 14 are respectively electrically connectedvia the conductive bumps 15 to bonding fingers or bonding pads (notshown) formed on the top surface 111 of the lower package substrate 11.

The molding member 16 may be formed of an insulating resin, for example,an epoxy molding compound (EMC), on the top surface 111 of the lowerpackage substrate 11 so as to protect the conductive bumps 15 and theconnections 30. More specifically, the molding member 16 fills the spacebetween the first semiconductor chip 14 and the top surface 111 of thelower package substrate 11 so as to protect electrical contacts betweenthe first semiconductor chip 14 and the conductive bumps 15. Also, themolding member 16 may cover side surfaces of the first semiconductorchip 14 and side surfaces of the connections 30.

In the present embodiment, the molding member 16 does not extend overthe upper surface of the first semiconductor chip 14. That is, the uppersurface of the first semiconductor chip 14 is exposed. Accordingly, thestacked semiconductor package 1 may possess excellent structural,electrical, and physical characteristics. For instance, the stackedsemiconductor package 1 can have excellent heat dissipatingcharacteristics, and may be relatively thin. Therefore, the stackedsemiconductor package 1 is resistant to warping or distorting and as aresult, the lower package substrate 11 and the first semiconductor chip14 remain very flat. In addition, physical pressure may be directlyapplied to the first semiconductor chip 14, i.e., without being appliedvia the molding member 16. Therefore, the present embodiment facilitatesthe use of a grid array technique or a multi-layered molding technique.

The external contact electrodes 17 may be solder balls, solder bumps, orsolder paste, and may be arrayed in a grid such that the lowersemiconductor package has the form of a ball grid array (BGA) package.In any case, the external contact electrodes 17 are respectively formedon the second electrode pads 122 and are the means by which the lowersemiconductor package 10 can be mounted or disposed on a mothersubstrate or another semiconductor package. In this regard, ahigh-temperature heat treatment process, such as a wave solderingprocess or a reflow soldering process, may be performed to bond thesecond electrode pads 122 to a mother board or another semiconductorpackage via the external contact electrodes 17.

The example of the upper semiconductor package 20 of this embodiment hasan upper package substrate 21, a metal interconnection portion 22, aprotective portion 23, a second semiconductor chip 24, an adhesive layer25, bonding pads 26, bonding wires 27, and a molding member 28. Thestructure of the upper semiconductor package 20 is similar to thestructure of the lower semiconductor package 10 in this respect and thusreference may be had to the previous description but someportions/constituent elements of the upper semiconductor package 20 willalso be described in more detail below.

The upper package substrate 21 may be a rectangular plate of insulatingmaterial so as to have a top surface 211 and a lower surface 212.

The metal interconnection portion 22 includes first electrode pads 221formed on the top surface 211 of the upper package substrate 21 andsecond electrode pads 222 formed on the bottom surface 212 of the upperpackage substrate 21. Although not illustrated, the first electrode pads221 may be electrically connected to the second electrode pads 222through vias passing through the upper package substrate 21. Inaddition, at least one inner interconnection layer, electricallyconnecting the first electrode pads 221 to the second electrode pads222, may be disposed in the upper package substrate.

The protective portion 23 is formed of insulating material forprotecting the metal interconnection portion 22, and in this exampleincludes a first protection layer 231 covering the top surface 211 ofthe upper package substrate 21 and a second protection layer 232covering the bottom surface 212 of the upper package substrate 21. Also,in the present embodiment, the first protection layer 231 exposescentral regions only of the upper surfaces of each of the firstelectrode pads 221, and the second protection layer 232 exposes centralregions only of each of the second electrode pads 222. However, theprotective portion 23 may expose the upper surfaces of each of the firstelectrode pads 221 and the second electrode pads 222 in their entirety.

The second semiconductor chip 24 may be a volatile memory device, suchas a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or a static random accessmemory (SRAM), or a non-volatile memory device, such as a flash memory.Furthermore, in the illustrated example, the upper semiconductor package20 has only one first semiconductor chip. However, the uppersemiconductor package 20 may include two or more semiconductor chipsstacked on each other.

Also, in the illustrated example, the second semiconductor chip 24 ismounted on a central region of the top surface 211 of the upper packagesubstrate 21 and fixed thereto by the adhesive layer 25. However, thesecond semiconductor chip 24 may instead be mounted on the bottomsurface 212 of the upper package substrate 21.

Furthermore, in the illustrated example, the second semiconductor chip24 is mounted on the upper package substrate 21 by wire bonding. Morespecifically, the bonding pads 26 are formed on a top surface of thesecond semiconductor chip 24, and the bonding pads 26 are respectivelyelectrically connected to the first electrode pads 221 through thebonding wires 27. However, the second semiconductor chip 24 may insteadbe mounted on the upper package substrate 21 by flip-chip bonding. Asanother alternative, the first semiconductor chip 24 may be embedded inthe upper package substrate 21 in which case, the thickness of the uppersemiconductor package 20 may be minimized.

The molding member 28 is formed on the upper surface 211 of the upperpackage substrate 21 so as to protect the second semiconductor chip 24,the adhesive layer 25, the bonding pads 26, and the bonding wires 27. Tothis end, the molding member 28 may be of an insulating resin, forexample, an EMC.

FIG. 2 is a graph of the warpage with respect to a reference surfaceexhibited by a stacked semiconductor package corresponding to that ofFIG. 1 (but without the inventive concept being applied thereto) as theresult of a reflow soldering process performed on connectionscorresponding to the connections 30 when connecting the upper and lowerpackages of the corresponding stacked semiconductor packages to oneanother. In this respect, the corresponding lower semiconductor packagemay warp, as the result of the reflow soldering process, due todifferent coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) between the lowerpackage substrate and the molding member thereof. Likewise, thecorresponding upper semiconductor package may warp due to differentcoefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) between the upper packagesubstrate and the molding member thereof.

In the graph of FIG. 2, a point along the X axis represents thetemperature (in ° C.) during the reflow soldering process and a pointalong the Y axis represents the warpage (in μm) that is occurring. Also,the plot ‘PKG1’ shows the warping of a lower semiconductor packagecorresponding to the lower semiconductor package 10 as the result of thereflow soldering process, i.e., is a “reflow soldering profile” of thelower semiconductor package. Plot ‘PKG2’ is a reflow soldering profileof an upper lower semiconductor package corresponding to the uppersemiconductor package 20. Note, the warping of the lower semiconductorpackage was measured between the bottom surface of the lowersemiconductor package and a reference surface, and the warping of theupper semiconductor package was measured between the bottom surface ofthe upper semiconductor package and the reference surface.

In this regard, the reflow soldering process is a process in which thesoldering together of two parts is performed by melting a body ofprepared solder paste or solder cream (in this case, the connection)provided at a joint between the parts. For example, a Sn/Pb or Sn/Pb/Ausolder having a melting point less than that of the base metal of theparts to be joined is provided between the parts and melted. Theresulting liquid solder wets the parts and, at the same time, the metalcomponent of the solder diffuses among particles of the base metal ofthe parts to form an alloy by which the parts are strongly joinedtogether.

The reflow soldering process, used in deriving the graph of FIG. 2, iscarried out over several ranges of temperatures, namely, over a heat-uptemperature range of from room temperature of, for example, about 25°C., to about 100° C., a soaking temperature range of from about 100° C.to about 200° C., a reflow soldering temperature range of from about200° C. to a peak value (of about 245° C.), and a cooling temperaturerange of from about 200° C. to room temperature. In this respect, thereflow soldering temperature range is near the melting point of thesolder. However, the melting point of the solder depends on itscomposition. For example, if the solder includes 96.5% tin (Sn) and 3.5%silver (Ag), the melting point of the solder is about 221° C., and ifthe solder includes 99.3% Sn and 0.7% copper (Cu), the melting point ofthe solder is about 227° C. Accordingly, the reflow solderingtemperature range depends on the composition of the solder andtherefore, FIG. 2 shows the results of just one example of a reflowsoldering process.

Referring to FIG. 2, the value of the warpage of the lower semiconductorpackage at room temperature is negative, meaning that at roomtemperature the lower semiconductor package warps convexly upwards. Onthe other hand, at high temperatures, that is, in the reflow solderingtemperature range, the value of the warpage of the lower semiconductorpackage is positive, meaning that the lower semiconductor package haswarped convexly downwards at the reflow soldering temperature range.Also, the value of the warpage of the upper semiconductor package isnegative at room temperature, meaning that at room temperature the uppersemiconductor package warps convexly upwards. On the other hand, oncethe temperature has increased during the course of the reflow solderingprocess, the warpage of the upper semiconductor package has a positivevalue. However, the warpage of the upper semiconductor package has anegative value when the temperature reaches a peak of about 240° C. andthereafter while the temperature decreases and thus, the upper packagewarps convexly upwards as the results of these temperatures.

Thus, in a temperature range in the vicinity of about 220° C. at whichconnections corresponding to the connections 30 solidify, the warpage ofthe lower semiconductor package has a positive value and the warpage ofthe upper semiconductor package has a negative value. Thus, when theconnections solidify, an interval between a central region of the uppersemiconductor package and a central region of the lower semiconductorpackage becomes greater than an interval between an outer peripheralregion of the upper semiconductor package and an outer peripheral regionof the lower semiconductor package.

In addition, adjacent solder balls of a semiconductor package may beshort-circuited as a result of a reflow soldering process of the typereferred to above. In particular, it is highly likely that adjacentsolder balls of a semiconductor package become short-circuited due towarpage of the semiconductor package and the melting of the solder ballsat the reflow soldering temperature range when the gap between thesemiconductor package and either a mother board or another semiconductorpackage is relatively small.

According to an aspect of the inventive concept that will be describedin more detail in the following, the heights of the solder connectionsused to connect a semiconductor package to either a mother board oranother semiconductor package are set to be different from each other tocompensate for warpage of the semiconductor package in the reflowsoldering temperature range. According to another aspect of theinventive concept, the heights of solder connections used to connect asemiconductor package and either a mother board or another semiconductorpackage are set to be different from each other to keep adjacent solderballs from short-circuiting during the reflow soldering process.

FIG. 3 shows the top surface 111 of the lower semiconductor package 10of the stacked semiconductor package 1 of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 3, the first electrode pads 121 on the top surface 111of the lower semiconductor substrate 10 have different sizes inconsideration of the warpage that the lower semiconductor package 10 mayincur during a reflow soldering process. In this example, the topsurface 111 of the lower semiconductor package 10 has a central region111A on which the first semiconductor chip 14 is mounted and an outerregion 111B on which the first electrode pads 121 are disposed. Also,the outer region 111B is sub-divided into longer-side outer regions111B_L constituted by longer parts of the top surface 111 of the lowersemiconductor package 10 extending along first opposite sides of thepackage 10, respectively, and shorter-side outer regions 111B_Sconstituted by shorter parts of the top surface 111 of the lowersemiconductor package 10 extending along second opposite sides of thepackage 10, respectively. Each longer-side outer region 111B_L may, inturn, be divided into first through fifth regions A, B, C, D, and Earrayed along the length of the region 111B_L.

In an example of this embodiment, the average size of first electrodepads 121 a on the first region A is about 0.24 mm, the average size offirst electrode pads 121 b on the second region B is about 0.23 mm, theaverage size of first electrode pads 121 c on the third region C isabout 0.22 mm, the average size of first electrode pads 121 d on thefourth region D is about 0.23 mm, the average size of first electrodepads 121 e on the fifth region E is about 0.24 mm.

The shorter-side outer regions 111B_S in this example are not dividedinto separate regions, and the first electrode pads 121 on theshorter-side outer regions 111B_S have substantially the same sizes. Inthis example, the first electrode pads 121 on the shorter-side outerregions 111B_S have the same sizes as the first electrode pads 121 a and121 e on the first and fifth regions A and E of the longer-side outerregions 111B_L, e.g., the average size of the first electrode pads 121on the shorter-side outer regions 111B_S and the first and fifth regionsA and E is about 0.24 mm.

FIG. 4 shows the bottom surface 212 of the upper semiconductor package20 of the stacked semiconductor package 1 of FIG. 1

Referring to FIG. 4, the second electrode pads 222 on the bottom surface212 of the upper semiconductor package 20 have different sizes inconsideration of the warpage that the lower semiconductor package 10 mayincur during a reflow soldering process. In this respect, the bottomsurface 212 of the upper semiconductor package 20 of this example isdivided into a central region 212A within the bounds of which the secondsemiconductor chip 24 is provided, and an outer region 212B on which thesecond electrode pads 222 are disposed. Also, the outer region 212B issub-divided into longer-side outer regions 212B_L and shorter-side outerregions 212B_S similar to the bottom surface of the lower semiconductorpackage 10.

Each longer-side outer region 212B_L in this example is divided intofirst through fifth regions F, G, H, I, and J arrayed along the lengththereof. In this embodiment, again by way of example, the average sizeof second electrode pads 222 a on the first region F is about 0.24 mm,the average size of second electrode pads 222 b on the second region Gis about 0.23 mm, the average size of second electrode pads 222 c on thethird region H is about 0.22 mm, the average size of second electrodepads 222 d on the fourth region I is about 0.23 mm, and the average sizeof second electrode pads 222 e on the fifth region J is about 0.24 mm.

The shorter-side outer regions 212B_S are not sub-divided into separateregions, and the second electrode pads 222 on the shorter-side outerregion 212B_S have substantially the same sizes. Furthermore, the sizesof the second electrode pads 222 on the shorter-side outer regions212B_S may be identical to the sizes of second electrode pads 222 a and222 e on first and fifth regions F and J of the longer-side outerregions 212B_L, i.e., the sizes of the second electrode pads 222 on theshorter-side outer regions 212B_S and the first and fifth regions F andJ are each on average about 0.24 mm in this example.

FIG. 5 is a graph of the intervals between lower and upper semiconductorpackages of stacked semiconductor packages, in or corresponding to aspace aligned with the sections taken along lines I-I′ of FIG. 3 andFIG. 4.

In the graph of FIG. 5, a point along the X axis represents the locationalong the space between the lower and upper semiconductor packages atwhich the interval is measured, and a point along the Y axis representsthe interval between the lower semiconductor package and the uppersemiconductor package in units of μm. In this regard, the ‘left’ part ofthe X axis of FIG. 5 corresponds to the first and second regions A and Bin FIG. 3 and the first and second regions F and G of FIG. 4, the‘center’ corresponds to the third region C in FIG. 3 and the thirdregion H of FIG. 4, and the ‘right’ corresponds to the fourth and fifthregions D and E in FIG. 3 and the fourth and fifth regions I and J inFIG. 4. That is, the X-axis corresponds to the longer outer side of thestacked semiconductor package.

Also, in FIG. 5, the plot ‘51’ indicates the intervals between the lowersemiconductor package 10 and the upper semiconductor package 20 alongeach longer side of the stacked package according to the inventiveconcept, whereas the plots ‘52’, ‘53’, and ‘54’ are presented ascomparative examples of certain conventional semiconductor packages.

As plot ‘51’ shows, the interval between the lower semiconductor package10 and the upper semiconductor package 20 is about 35 μm in the‘center’, about 10 μm in the ‘left’, and about 20 μm in the ‘right’ dueto warpage in the lower semiconductor package 10 and the uppersemiconductor package 20 during the reflow soldering process.

FIG. 6 is a graph of the intervals between lower and upper semiconductorpackages of stacked semiconductor packages, in or corresponding to aspace aligned with the sections taken along lines III-III′ of FIG. 3 andFIG. 4, due to warpage in the lower semiconductor package 10 and theupper semiconductor package 20 during a reflow soldering process.

In the graph of FIG. 6, a point along the X axis represents the locationalong the space between the lower and upper semiconductor packages atwhich the interval is measured, and a point along the Y axis representsthe interval in units of μm between the lower semiconductor package andthe upper semiconductor package. In this regard, the ‘left’ part of theX axis corresponds to a region adjacent the letter III in FIGS. 3 and 4,the ‘right’ corresponds to a region adjacent to the letter III′ in FIGS.3 and 4, and the ‘center’ corresponds to a region therebetween. That is,the X-axis corresponds to the shorter outer sides of the stackedsemiconductor package.

Also, in FIG. 6, the plot ‘61’ indicates the intervals between the lowersemiconductor package 10 and the upper semiconductor package 20 of thestacked package according to the inventive concept, whereas the plots‘62’ and ‘63’ are presented as comparative examples of certainconventional semiconductor packages.

As the plot ‘61’ shows, the interval between the lower semiconductorpackage 10 and the upper semiconductor package 20 at the ‘center’ isabout 15 μm, which is very similar to the interval between the lowersemiconductor package 10 and the upper semiconductor package 20 at the‘right’. Also, as the plot ‘63’ shows, the interval between the lowersemiconductor package 10 and the upper semiconductor package 20 at the‘center’ is about 25 μm, which is very similar to the interval betweenthe lower semiconductor package 10 and the upper semiconductor package20 at the ‘left’.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the lower semiconductor package 10 ofFIG. 3, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the upper semiconductorpackage 20 of FIG. 4.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the lower semiconductor package 10 is convexin a downward direction and more specifically, the longer (first) sidesof the bottom surface 112 of the substrate of the lower semiconductorpackage are convex and the longer (first) sides of the top surface 111thereof are concave. In particular, the degree to which longer oppositesides of the lower semiconductor package 10 is warped is relativelyhigh, and the degree to which the shorter opposite sides of the lowersemiconductor package 10 is warped is so relatively low as to benegligible.

The upper semiconductor package 20 is convex in an upward direction andmore specifically, the longer sides of the bottom surface 212 of thesubstrate of the lower semiconductor package are concave and the longersides of the top surface 111 thereof are convex. In particular, like thelower semiconductor package 10, the degree to which longer (first) sidesof the upper semiconductor package 20 is warped is relatively high, andthe degree to which shorter (second) sides of the upper semiconductorpackage 20 is warped is so relatively low as to be negligible.

Thus, along the longer sides of the lower semiconductor package 10 andthe upper semiconductor package 20, the interval between the lowersemiconductor package 10 and the upper semiconductor package 20 islargest at central regions thereof and decrease toward outer regions ofthe longer sides. Also, at the shorter sides of the lower semiconductorpackage 10 and the upper semiconductor package 20, the intervals betweenthe lower semiconductor package 10 and the upper semiconductor packageare substantially the same.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an example of the stackedsemiconductor package 1 taken along lines I-I′ of FIGS. 3 and 4.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 9, the lower semiconductor package 10 isconvex downwards and the upper semiconductor package 20 is convexupwards. Thus, heights of the connections 30 interposed between thelower semiconductor package 10 and the upper semiconductor package 20are different from each other. Specifically, the heights of theconnections 30 decrease along each of opposite longer first sides of thefirst semiconductor package 1 from central to outer regions of eachfirst side.

Furthermore, in the illustrated example of the present embodiment, thesizes of the exposed areas of the top surfaces of the first electrodepads 121 disposed along each outer region 111B_L of the lowersemiconductor package 10 differ from each other. In particular, theexposed areas increase in size from the central to the outer regions ofeach longer side of the stacked semiconductor package 1, as illustratedin FIG. 3. Also, the sizes of exposed areas of the top surfaces of thesecond electrode pads 222 disposed along each first outer region 212B_Lof the upper semiconductor package 20 differ from each other. Inparticular, these exposed areas also increase in size from the centralto the outer regions of each longer side of the stacked semiconductorpackage 1, as illustrated in FIG. 4.

In another example, the sizes of the exposed areas of the top surfacesof the first electrode pads 121 disposed along each longer first side ofthe lower semiconductor package 10 increase in size from the central tothe outer regions of each first side of the stacked semiconductorpackage 1, whereas the sizes of the exposed areas of the top surfaces ofthe second electrode pads 222 disposed along each longer first side ofthe upper semiconductor package 20 are the same.

In still another example, the sizes of the exposed areas of the topsurfaces of the first electrode pads 121 disposed along each longerfirst side of the lower semiconductor package 10 are substantially thesame, whereas the sizes of the exposed areas of the top surfaces of thesecond electrode pads 222 disposed along each longer first side of theupper semiconductor package 20 increase in size from the central to theouter regions of each longer side of the stacked semiconductor package1.

When the reflow soldering process is performed on equal volumes ofsolder interposed between the first electrode pads 121 and the secondelectrode pads 222, respectively, the sizes the exposed areas of the topsurfaces of the first electrode pads 121 and/or the second electrodepads 222 determine the heights of the connections 30 formed by thereflow soldering process. Specifically, the larger the exposed areasare, the wider the connections 30 become and thus, the shorter theconnections 30 become as well. Thus, the heights of each set ofconnections 30, disposed along a first side of the stacked semiconductorpackage 1 (corresponding to regions 111B_L and 211B_L in FIGS. 3 and 4),decrease from the central to the outer regions of the longer sides inany of the examples described above.

In another embodiment, the sizes of the exposed areas of the topsurfaces of the first electrode pads 121 along each outer region 111B_Lof the lower semiconductor package 10 may be substantially the same, andthe sizes of the exposed areas of the top surfaces of the secondelectrode pads 222 along each outer region 212B_L of the uppersemiconductor package 20 may be substantially the same. In this case,the bodies of solder used to form the connections 30 along each firstside of the stacked semiconductor package 1, respectively, havedifferent volumes and hence, these connections 30 have different volumesas well. In particular, the volumes of each set of connections 30disposed along a first longer side of the stacked semiconductor package1 (corresponding to regions 111B_L and 211B_L in FIGS. 3 and 4 decreasefrom the central to the outer regions of the first side andcorrespondingly, the heights of the connections 30 of each such setdecrease from the central to the outer regions of the first side.

FIG. 10 shows a section of the stacked semiconductor package 1 takenalong lines II-II′ of FIGS. 3 and 4.

Referring to FIG. 10, in this section there are no electrode padsdisposed on the central region 111A of the upper surface 111 of thesubstrate 11 of the lower semiconductor package 10. Rather, electrodepads 121 are only disposed on the outer region 111B_S and in this case,the sizes of the exposed areas of the top surfaces of the firstelectrode pads 121 on the outer region 111B_S are substantially thesame. Likewise, no electrode pads are disposed on the central region212A of the lower surface 212 of the substrate 21 of the uppersemiconductor package 20. Rather, electrode pads 121 are disposed onlyon the outer region 212B_S and in this case, the sizes of the exposedareas of the top surfaces of the second electrode pads 222 on the outerregion 212B_S are substantially the same.

FIG. 11 shows a section of the stacked semiconductor package 1 takenalong lines III-III′ of FIGS. 3 and 4.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 11, the heights of the connections 30disposed between the lower semiconductor package 10 and the uppersemiconductor package 20, along each shorter (second) side of thestacked semiconductor package (corresponding to outer regions 111B_S and212B_S), are substantially the same.

Along this section of the stacked semiconductor package 10, the sizes ofthe exposed areas of the top surfaces of the first electrode pads 121 ofthe lower semiconductor package 10 are substantially the same. Likewise,along this section, the sizes of the exposed areas of the top surfacesof the second electrode pads 222 are substantially the same. Thus, whenequal volumes of solder are used between the first electrode pads 121and the second electrode pads 222 disposed along the outer regions111B_S and 212B_S, the heights of the connections 30 formed by thesoldering reflow process will be substantially the same. In this regard,the heights of the connections 30 along this section may besubstantially the same as heights of the connection(s) 30 (two, in theillustrated example) disposed at the outermost region of the sectionillustrated in FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 shows a section of the stacked semiconductor package 1 takenalong lines IV-IV′ of FIGS. 3 and 4.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 12, along this section, no electrode padsare disposed on the central region 111A. Rather, first electrode pads 21are disposed only on the outer region 111B_L and in this case, the sizesof the exposed areas of the top surfaces of the first electrode pads 121on the outer region 111B_L are substantially the same. Also, along thissection, no electrode pads are disposed on the central region 212A.Rather, second electrode pads 222 are disposed only on the outer region212B_L and in this case, the sizes of the exposed areas of the topsurfaces of the second electrode pads 222 are substantially the same.Thus, when equal volumes of solder are used between the first electrodepads 121 and the second electrode pads 222 at the central region C ofthe outer regions 111B_L and 212B_L, the heights of the connections 30formed by the soldering reflow process will be substantially the same.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a stackedsemiconductor package 1′. This embodiment is similar to that shown inand described above with respect to FIGS. 1 and 3-12 and thecross-section view of this embodiment corresponds to that taken alonglines I-I′ of FIGS. 3 and 4 wherein the relative sizes of the electrodepads themselves and more particular, the top surfaces of the electrodepads in their entirety are shown as will become clearer from thedescription that follows.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 13, at each longer first side of the stackedsemiconductor package 1′, the lower semiconductor package 10′ is convexdownwards, and the upper semiconductor package 20′ is convex upwards.Thus, the heights of the connections 30′ disposed along each longer sideof the of the stacked semiconductor package 1′ decrease from a centralto outer regions of the first side similarly to the embodiment describedabove.

In this embodiment, though, in the lower semiconductor package 10′, thefirst protection layer 131′ disposed on the top surface 111 of the lowerpackage substrate 11 covers the side surfaces of first electrode pads121′ but exposes the entire upper surface of each first electrode pad121′. Similarly, the second protection layer 132′ disposed on the bottomsurface 112 of the lower package substrate 11 covers the side surfacesof second electrode pads 122′ but exposes the entire top surface of eachsecond electrode pad 122′. Also, in the upper semiconductor package 20′,the second protection layer 232′ disposed on the bottom surface 212 ofthe upper package substrate 21 covers the side surfaces of secondelectrode pads 222′ but exposes the entire top surface of each secondelectrode pad 222′. As was mentioned earlier, this structure is referredto as an NSMD-type interconnection line substrate. That is, in theNSMD-type interconnection line substrate, the size of an electrode padrefers to the area of the top surface of the electrode pad.

The sizes of the first electrode pads 121′ of the lower semiconductorpackage 10′ differ from each other and, in particular, increase from thecentral to the outer regions along each longer side of the stackedsemiconductor package 1′ as exemplified by the relative sizes of thefirst electrode pads 121 a, 121 b, 121 c, 121 d, and 121 e illustratedin FIG. 3. Also, the sizes of the second electrode pads 222′ of theupper semiconductor package 20′ differ from each other and, inparticular, increase from the central to the outer regions along eachlonger side of the stacked semiconductor package 1′ as exemplified bythe relative sizes of the second electrode pads 222 a, 222 b, 222 c, 222d, and 222 e illustrated in FIG. 4.

When the reflow soldering process is performed on equal volumes ofsolder interposed between the first electrode pads 121′ and the secondelectrode pads 222′, respectively, the sizes of the first electrode pads121′ and/or the second electrode pads 222′ determine the heights of theconnections 30′ formed by the reflow soldering process. Specifically,the larger the electrode pads are, the wider the connections 30 becomeand thus, the shorter the connections 30′ become as well. Thus, theheights of each set of connections 30, disposed along a longer firstside of the stacked semiconductor package 1′ (corresponding to regions111B_L and 211B_L in FIGS. 3 and 4), decrease from the central to theouter regions of the first side in any of the examples described above.

In another example of this embodiment, the sizes of the first electrodepads 121′ on the outer region 111B_L of the lower semiconductor package10′ increase from the central to the outer regions along the first sideof the stacked semiconductor package 1′, and the sizes of the secondelectrode pads 222′ on the outer region 212B_L of the uppersemiconductor package 20′ are substantially the same.

In another example of this embodiment, the sizes of the second electrodepads 222′ on the outer region 212B_L of the upper semiconductor package20′ increase from the central to the outer regions of the first side ofthe stacked semiconductor package 1′, and the sizes of the firstelectrode pads 121′ on the outer region 111B_L of the lowersemiconductor package 10′ are substantially the same.

Even in these examples, the heights of the connection portions 30′ willdecrease from the central to the outer regions of each longer first sideof the stacked semiconductor package 1′, for the reasons explainedabove.

In another embodiment, the sizes of the first electrode pads 121′ alongeach outer region 111B_L of the lower semiconductor package 10 may besubstantially the same, and the sizes of the second electrode pads 222′along each outer region 212B_L of the upper semiconductor package 20 maybe substantially the same. In this case, the bodies of solder used toform the connections 30′ along each longer first side of the stackedsemiconductor package 1′, respectively, have different volumes andhence, these connections 30′ have different volumes as well. Inparticular, the volumes of each set of connections 30′ disposed along alonger first side of the stacked semiconductor package 1 (correspondingto regions 111B_L and 211B_L in FIGS. 3 and 4 decrease from the centralto the outer regions of the first side and correspondingly, the heightsof the connections 30′ of each such set decrease from the central to theouter regions of the first side.

FIGS. 14-16 are sectional views of the stacked semiconductor package 1′taken along lines II-II′, III-III′ and IV′ of FIGS. 3 and 4, whereinreference numerals 121 a-121 e and 222 a-222 b show the relative sizesof the electrode pads themselves in section and more particular, therelative sizes of the exposed top surfaces as was mentioned above.Because the aspects/features shown in these figures are similar to thosedescribed in the corresponding sectional views of FIGS. 10-12 and thusevident from the descriptions of FIGS. 10-12, such aspects/features ofthis embodiment of the stacked semiconductor package 1′ will not bedescribed in further detail.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of a stackedsemiconductor package 1″ according to the inventive concept, as takenalong lines I-I′ of FIGS. 3 and 4 which in this case, again, show therelative sizes of exposed central areas of the top surfaces of theelectrode pads.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 17, the lower semiconductor package 10 isconvex downwards and the upper semiconductor package 20 is convexupwards. Thus, heights of the connections 30″ interposed between thelower semiconductor package 10 and the upper semiconductor package 20are different from each other. Specifically, the heights of theconnections 30″ decrease along each of opposite longer first sides ofthe first semiconductor package 1″ from central to outer regions of eachfirst side.

In this embodiment of a stacked semiconductor package 1″, each of theconnections 30″ includes a first contact electrode 31 and a secondcontact electrode 32 electrically connected to each other. Each firstcontact electrode 31 is electrically connected to a respective firstelectrode pad 121 of the lower semiconductor package 10, and each secondcontact electrode 32 is electrically connected to a respective secondelectrode pad 222 of the upper semiconductor package 20.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 17, the first and second contactelectrodes 31 and 32 each are spherical solder balls. However, thecontact electrodes of at least one of the sets of first and second ofcontact electrodes 31 and 32 may instead be hemispherical.Alternatively, the contact electrodes of at least one of the sets offirst and second contact electrodes 31 and 32 may be mesa-shaped,cylindrical, or polygonal pillar-shaped. In addition, a conductivemember (interposer) may be disposed between the set of first contactelectrodes 31 and set of second contact electrodes 32.

In any case, by providing the first and second contact electrodes 31 and32 on the lower semiconductor package 10 and the upper semiconductorpackage 20, respectively, short-circuiting of the first electrode pads121 and the second electrode pads 222 can be prevented when the lowersemiconductor package 10 and the upper semiconductor package 20 arewarped.

As also illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 17, the heights of thesecond contact electrodes 32 are greater than the heights of thecorresponding (i.e., electrically connected) first contact electrodes31, respectively. For example, the heights of first contact electrodes31 a and 31 e on the first electrode pads 121 a and 121 e may be about0.155 mm, the heights of first contact electrodes 31 b and 31 d on thefirst electrode pads 121 b and 121 d may be about 0.160 mm, and theheights of first contact electrodes 31 c on the first electrode pads 121c may be about 0.167 mm. Also, the heights of second contact electrodes32 a and 32 e on the second electrode pads 222 a and 222 e may be about0.188 mm, the heights of the second contact electrodes 32 b and 32 d onthe second electrode pads 222 b and 222 d may be about 0.193 mm, and theheights of the second contact electrodes 32 c on the second electrodepads 222 c may be about 0.198 mm.

However, the heights of the first contact electrodes 31 may instead begreater than the heights of the corresponding second contact electrodes32. Alternatively, the heights of the first contact electrodes 31 may beidentical to the heights of the corresponding second contact electrodes32.

Furthermore, in the illustrated example of the embodiment of FIG. 17,the sizes of the exposed areas of the top surfaces of the firstelectrode pads 121 a-112 e disposed along each outer region 111B_L ofthe lower semiconductor package 10 differ from each other. Inparticular, the exposed areas increase in size from the central to theouter regions of each first side of the stacked semiconductor package1″. Also, the sizes of exposed areas of the top surfaces of the secondelectrode pads 222 a-222 e disposed along each first outer region 212B_Lof the upper semiconductor package 20 differ from each other. Inparticular, these exposed areas also increase in size from the centralto the outer regions of each longer first side of the stackedsemiconductor package 1″.

FIGS. 18-20 are sectional views of the stacked semiconductor package 1″taken along lines II-II′, III-III′ and IV′ of FIGS. 3 and 4. Because theaspects/features shown in these figures are similar to those describedin the corresponding sectional views of FIGS. 10-12 and thus evidentfrom the descriptions of FIGS. 10-12, such aspects/features of thisembodiment of the stacked semiconductor package 1″ will not be describedin further detail.

In another embodiment of a stacked semiconductor package according tothe inventive concept, the lower semiconductor package 10 and the uppersemiconductor package 20 may each comprise a NSMD-type interconnectionsubstrate, and connections similar to the connections 30″ shown in FIGS.17-20. Thus, in this case, the sizes of the first electrode pads of thelower semiconductor package 10 differ from each other as exemplified bythe relative sizes of the first electrode pads 121 a, 121 b, 121 c, 121d, and 121 e illustrated in FIG. 3. Likewise, the sizes of the secondelectrode pads of the upper semiconductor package 20 differ from eachother as exemplified by the relative sizes of the second electrode pads222 a, 222 b, 222 c, 222 d, and 222 e illustrated in FIG. 4.

In each of the embodiments and examples thereof described above, astacked semiconductor package has a concave lower semiconductor packageand a convex upper semiconductor package formed by the reflow solderingprocess used to form connections electrically connecting the packages.However, a stacked semiconductor package according to the inventiveconcept may be embodied as having a concave upper semiconductor package.In this embodiment, the heights of the connections disposed along eachlonger side of the lower package substrate, corresponding to an outerregion 111 b_L in FIG. 3, increases from a central to outside regions ofthe longer side of the lower package substrate. The varying heights ofthe connections may be produced in any manner heretofore described,e.g., through the use of (first and/or second) electrode pads ofdifferent sizes or different volumes of solder provided between thefirst electrode pads and the second electrode pads.

FIG. 21 is a graph of the intervals between the lower semiconductorpackage 10 of the stacked package and a mother board in a space alignedwith the section taken along line I-I′ of FIG. 3, due to warpage in thelower semiconductor package 10 and the mother board during the reflowsoldering process.

In the graph of FIG. 21, a point along the X axis represents thelocation along the space between the lower semiconductor package 10 andthe mother board at which the interval is measured, and a point alongthe Y axis represents the interval between the lower semiconductorpackage and the mother board in units of μm. In this regard, the ‘left’part of the X axis of FIG. 21 corresponds to the first and secondregions A and B in FIG. 3, the ‘center’ corresponds to the third regionC in FIG. 3, and the ‘right’ corresponds to the fourth and fifth regionsD and E in FIG. 3. That is, the X-axis corresponds to the longer side ofthe outer region of the stacked semiconductor package.

Also, in FIG. 21, the plot ‘71’ indicates the intervals between thelower semiconductor package 10 and the mother board according to theinventive concept, whereas the plots ‘72’, ‘73’, and ‘74’ indicate theintervals in other examples of a stacked semiconductor package on amother board.

As plot ‘71’ shows, the interval between the lower semiconductor package10 and the mother board is about 70 μm in the ‘center’, about 110 μm inthe ‘left’, and about 40 μm in the ‘right’.

FIG. 22 is a graph of the intervals between the lower semiconductorpackage 10 and a mother board in a space aligned with the section takealong line III-III′ of FIG. 3, due to warpage in the lower semiconductorpackage 10 and the mother board during a reflow soldering process.

In the graph of FIG. 22, a point along the X axis represents thelocation along the space between the lower semiconductor package and themother board at which the interval is measured, and a point along the Yaxis represents the interval in units of μm between the lowersemiconductor package and the mother board. In this regard, the ‘left’part of the X axis corresponds to a region adjacent the letter III inFIG. 3, the ‘right’ corresponds to a region adjacent to the letter III′in FIG. 3, and the ‘center’ corresponds to a region therebetween. Thatis, the X axis corresponds to the shorter side of the outer region ofthe stacked semiconductor package.

Also, in FIG. 22, the plot ‘81’ indicates the intervals between thelower semiconductor package 10 and the mother board according to theinventive concept, whereas the plots ‘82’, ‘83’ and ‘84’ indicate theintervals in other examples of such a device.

As the plot ‘81’ shows, the interval between the lower semiconductorpackage 10 and the mother board at the ‘center’ is about 90 μm, which isvery similar to the interval between the lower semiconductor package 10and the upper semiconductor package 20 at the ‘right’. Also, as the plot‘63’ shows, the interval between the lower semiconductor package 10 andthe upper semiconductor package 20 at the ‘center’ is about 25 μm, whichis very similar to the interval between the lower semiconductor package10 and the upper semiconductor package 20 at the ‘left’.

As the plots ‘81’ through ‘84’ each show, the interval between the lowersemiconductor package and the mother board at the ‘center’ is small, andthe intervals between the lower semiconductor package and the motherboard at the ‘left’ and ‘right’ are relatively large. However, comparedto the results from the graph of FIG. 21, the warpage is relativelysmall. For example, as plot ‘81’ shows, the interval between the lowersemiconductor package and the mother board at the ‘center’ range isabout 90 μm, and the interval between the lower semiconductor packageand the mother board at the ‘left’ is about 95 μm. That is, thedifference in the intervals at the ‘center’ and at the ‘left’ range isabout 5 μm. Accordingly, the pair of opposite shorter sides of the lowersemiconductor package 10 are hardly bent as compared to the pair ofopposite longer sides.

FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor device 2 comprisinga stacked semiconductor package and a mother board, according to theinventive concept, take along one of the longer sides of the stackedsemiconductor package as in the case of lines I-I′ of FIGS. 3 and 4.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 23, the stacked semiconductor packageof the semiconductor device 2 is similar to the stacked semiconductorpackage 1 of FIGS. 9-12. That is, the stacked semiconductor package 1includes a lower semiconductor package 10, an upper semiconductorpackage 20, and connections 30.

As was described earlier, in the reflow soldering temperature range, thelower semiconductor package 10 may assume a downwardly convex shape.Thus, in this case, the intervals between the lower semiconductorpackage 10 and the mother board 40 in the semiconductor device 2increase from central to outer (end) regions of the longer sides of thestacked semiconductor package 1. According to an aspect of the inventiveconcept, the external contact electrodes 17 are formed of differentheights to compensate for the warpage of the lower semiconductor package10.

In this device 2, second electrode pads 122 are disposed on the bottomsurface 112 of the lower package substrate 11 of the lower semiconductorpackage 10, and the external contact electrodes 17 are disposed on thesecond electrode pads 122. Furthermore, the mother board 40 includes aboard (of insulating material) and external contact terminals 41disposed on a top surface of the board. The external contact electrodes17 are respectively electrically connected to the external contactterminals 41. Accordingly, the lower semiconductor package 10 is mountedon the mother substrate 40 by means of the external contact terminals41.

In this embodiment, the exposed areas of the tops of the secondelectrode pads 122 vary along each longer first side of the lowerpackage substrate 11. In the illustrated example, the exposed areas ofthe second electrode pads 122 decrease from a central to outside regionsof the longer first side of the lower package substrate 11. Thus, theheights of the external contact electrodes 17 formed after they aresubjected to a reflow soldering process will increase from the centralto the outer regions of the longer side of the stacked semiconductorpackage 1. Thus, the warpage of the lower semiconductor package as aresult of the reflow soldering process is compensated for, and theexternal contact electrodes 17 adjacent to the center of the bottomsurface 112 can be prevented from short-circuiting.

In this example, the sizes of the external contact terminals 41 aresubstantially the same. However, the sizes of the external contactterminals 41 may be determined based on the sizes of the top areas ofthe second electrode pads 122 exposed to the external contactelectrodes. Thus, the sizes of the external contact terminals 41 maydecrease from the central to the outer regions of the longer first sideof the stacked semiconductor package 1.

In another embodiment, the volumes of the external contact electrodes 17may vary. For example, the volumes of the external contact electrodes 17increase from the central to the outside regions of the bottom surface112 of the lower package substrate 11. In this way, the heights of theexternal contact electrodes 17 may vary, e.g. increase, from the centralto the outside regions of the bottom surface 112 of the lower packagesubstrate 11. Furthermore, in this case, the sizes of the exposed topareas of the second electrode pads 122 and/or of the external contactterminals 41 may be substantially the same. Also, the sizes of theexposed top areas of the second electrode pads 122 and/or of theexternal contact terminals 41 may decrease from the central to the outerregions of the longer side of the stacked semiconductor package 1.

FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of asemiconductor device comprising a stacked semiconductor package and amother board, according to the inventive concept, take along one of thelonger sides of the stacked semiconductor package as in the case oflines I-I′ of FIGS. 3 and 4.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 24, the stacked semiconductor packageof the semiconductor device 2′ is similar to the stacked semiconductorpackage 1′ of FIGS. 13-16. That is, the stacked semiconductor package 1′a lower semiconductor package 10′, an upper semiconductor package 20′,and connections 30′.

In this embodiment as well, according to an aspect of the inventiveconcept, the external contact electrodes 17′ are formed of differentheights, using the same mechanism described above, to compensate for thewarpage of the lower semiconductor package 10.

Because the other features and aspects and advantages of the embodimentof FIG. 24 are apparent from the descriptions of the embodiments ofFIGS. 13-16 and 23 above, such features and aspects will not bedescribed in further detail. Also, it will be apparent that all of thevariations described with respect to the embodiments of FIGS. 13-16 andFIG. 23, including those associated with the relative sizes of theexternal contact terminals 41, the relative sizes of the exposed topareas of the second electrode pads 122, and the volumes of the externalcontact electrodes 17′, may be applied to this embodiment of FIG. 24 aswell.

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view of still another embodiment of asemiconductor device comprising a stacked semiconductor package and amother board, according to the inventive concept, take along one of thelonger sides of the stacked semiconductor package as in the case oflines I-I′ of FIGS. 3 and 4.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 25, the stacked semiconductor packageof the semiconductor device 2″ is similar to the stacked semiconductorpackage 1″ of FIGS. 17-20. That is, the stacked semiconductor package 1″includes a lower semiconductor package 10, the upper semiconductorpackage 20, and the connections 30″.

Because the other features and aspects and advantages of the embodimentof FIG. 25 are apparent from the descriptions of the embodiments ofFIGS. 17-20 and 23 above, such features and aspects will not bedescribed in further detail. Also, it will be apparent that all of thevariations described with respect to the embodiments of FIGS. 17-20 andFIG. 23, including those associated with the relative sizes of theexternal contact terminals 41, the relative sizes of the exposed topareas of the second electrode pads 122, and the volumes of the externalcontact electrodes 17′, may be applied to this embodiment of FIG. 25 aswell.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating a method of fabricating a stackedsemiconductor package, according to the inventive concept. The methodmay be used to fabricate any of the stacked semiconductor packagesillustrated in and/or described with respect to FIGS. 1 and 3 to 20.

Referring to FIG. 26, in operation S90, different heights for theconnections are determined based on the warpage that will occur in thesubstrates of the packages are subject to a heat treatment (e.g, asoldering reflow process).

In operation S100, a first semiconductor package including a firstpackage substrate and a first semiconductor chip mounted on the firstpackage substrate is provided. The first package substrate includes atop surface and a bottom surface, and the first semiconductor chip maybe mounted on a central region of the top surface of the first packagesubstrate. The first semiconductor package may include two or moresemiconductor chips stacked on each other.

In operation S200, a second semiconductor package including a secondpackage substrate and a second semiconductor chip mounted on the secondpackage substrate is provided. The second package substrate includes atop surface and a bottom surface, and the second semiconductor chip ismounted on a central region of the top surface of the second packagesubstrate. In this regard, the second semiconductor chip is larger thanthe first semiconductor chip. Also, the second semiconductor package mayinclude two or more semiconductor chips stacked on each other.

In operation S300, material constituting the connections, e.g., aplurality of bodies of solder, is provided between an outer region ofthe top surface of the first package substrate outside the firstsemiconductor chip and a region of the bottom surface of the secondpackage substrate corresponding to the outer region. This can beaccomplished, for example, as the result of stacking the secondsemiconductor package on the first semiconductor package with the solderbodies provided on the second package substrate (in the case offabricating the embodiments of FIGS. 9-16) or by stacking one package onthe other with the solder bodies provided on the first and secondpackages substrates (in the case of fabricating the embodiment of FIGS.17-20). In the case of fabricating the embodiment of FIGS. 17-20, aconductive interposer may be provided between respective sets of solderbodies.

In any case, the material constituting the connections, namely, thesolder bodies in this example, is formed along opposite first longersides and opposite second shorter sides of the stacked first and secondpackages.

In operation S400, a heat treatment (e.g., reflow soldering process) isperformed on the material (solder bodies), thereby forming theconnections which connect the first and second semiconductor packages toone another. As a result of the reflow soldering process and of meanstaken in providing the substrate packages and the solder bodies (namelyappropriate selection of the size of conductive pads or at least of thesize of exposed areas of top surfaces of conductive pads on which thesolder bodies are provided, as well as appropriate selection of volumesof the solder bodies), the heights of the connections disposed alongeach first side of the stacked packages substrate vary from a central toouter regions of the first side. For example, the heights of theconnections gradually decrease from the central to the outer regions. Onthe other hand, the heights of connections disposed along each secondside may be substantially the same.

FIG. 27 shows an example of a semiconductor module employing a stackedsemiconductor package, according to the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 27, this example of semiconductor module 3A includes amodule board 310, a plurality of contact terminals 320, and a pluralityof stacked semiconductor packages 330. The module board 310 may be aprinted circuit board. The stacked semiconductor packages 330 aremounted on the module board 310, and at least one of the stackedsemiconductor packages 330 is a stacked semiconductor package accordingto the inventive concept (e.g., any of the packages 1, 1′, and 1″illustrated in FIGS. 9 through 20. The contact terminals 320 are formedat a side of the module board 310, and are electrically connected to thestacked semiconductor packages 330.

FIG. 28 shows another example of a semiconductor module employing astacked semiconductor package, according to the inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 28, this example of a semiconductor module 3B includesa module board 340 and a plurality of stacked semiconductor packages 350mounted on the module board 340. The module board 340 may be a printedcircuit board, and at least one of the stacked semiconductor packages330 is a stacked semiconductor package according to the inventiveconcept (e.g., any of the packages 1, 1′, and 1″ illustrated in FIGS. 9through 20.

FIG. 29 shows an example of a memory card employing a stackedsemiconductor package, according to the inventive concept. The memorycard 4 may be used by various portable devices to store date. Forexample, the memory card 4 may be a multi media card (MMC) or a securedigital (SD) card.

Referring to FIG. 29, the memory card 4 of this example includes acontroller 410, a memory 420, and a housing 430 containing thecontroller 410 and the memory 420. The controller 410 and the memory 420are operatively connected to exchange electrical signals with eachother. For example, according to a command of the controller 410, thememory 420 and the controller 410 exchange data with each other. Assuch, the memory card 400 may store data in the memory 420 or may outputdata from the memory 420 to the outside.

The memory 420 includes at least one stacked semiconductor package orsemiconductor device including a stacked semiconductor package,according to the inventive concept.

FIG. 30 shows an example of an electronic system 5 employing a stackedsemiconductor package, according to the inventive concept. Theelectronic system 5 may be used in, for example, a mobile phone, an MP3player, a navigation device, a solid state drive (SSD), or householdappliances.

Referring to FIG. 30, the electronic system 500 of this example includesa processor 510, a memory unit 520, and an input/output device 530, anda bus 540. The processor 510, the memory unit 520, and the input/outputdevice 530 data-communicate with each other through the bus 540. Theprocessor 510 executes a program and controls the electronic system 500.The input/output device 530 may input or output data of the electronicsystem 500. The electronic system 500 may be connected to an externaldevice, such as a personal computer or a network, through theinput/output device 530 so as to exchange data—with the external device.The memory unit 520 may store code and data for operating the processor510 and includes at least one stacked semiconductor package orsemiconductor device including a stacked semiconductor package,according to the inventive concept.

Finally, embodiments of the inventive concept and examples thereof havebeen described above in detail. The inventive concept may, however, beembodied in many different forms and should not be construed as beinglimited to the embodiments described above. Rather, these embodimentswere described so that this disclosure is thorough and complete, andfully conveys the inventive concept to those skilled in the art. Thus,the true spirit and scope of the inventive concept is not limited by theembodiment and examples described above but by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A stacked semiconductor package comprising: afirst semiconductor package including a first package substrate and afirst semiconductor chip mounted on the first package substrate, thefirst package substrate having a first side constituting an outerperipheral region thereof, wherein the first semiconductor chip issurrounded by a mold except for a top surface of the first semiconductorchip, a second semiconductor package including a second packagesubstrate and a second semiconductor chip mounted on the second packagesubstrate; and a plurality of connections electrically connecting thefirst semiconductor package and the second semiconductor package, theconnections being disposed outside the first semiconductor chip alongthe outer peripheral region of the first package substrate, and whereina first group of the connections is disposed along the first side of thefirst package substrate as spaced from one another, and the heights ofthe connections of the first group vary from a central to an outerregion of the first side.
 2. The stacked semiconductor package of claim1, wherein a second group of the connections is disposed along a secondside of the first package substrate as spaced from one another, and theheights of the connections of the second group are substantially thesame.
 3. The stacked semiconductor package of claim 2, wherein the firstsemiconductor package further includes a plurality of first electrodepads disposed on a top surface of the first package substrate andrespectively electrically connected to the connections, and the secondsemiconductor package further includes a plurality of second electrodepads disposed on a bottom surface of the second package substrate andrespectively electrically connected to the connections.
 4. The stackedsemiconductor package of claim 3, wherein the areas of the firstelectrode pads exposed to the connections vary from a central to anouter region of the first side.
 5. The stacked semiconductor package ofclaim 3, wherein the areas of the first electrode pads exposed to theconnections are substantially the same along the second side.
 6. Thestacked semiconductor package of claim 3, wherein the connections eachcomprise: a plurality of first contact electrodes respectively disposedon the first electrode pads; and a plurality of second contactelectrodes respectively disposed on the second electrode pads andrespectively electrically connected to the first contact electrodes. 7.The stacked semiconductor package of claim 1, wherein the heights of theconnections of the first group decrease from the central to the outerregion of the first side.
 8. The stacked semiconductor package of claim1, wherein the connections are disposed in two or more rows along theouter peripheral region of the first package substrate.
 9. A stackedsemiconductor package comprising: a first semiconductor packageincluding a first package substrate and a first semiconductor chipmounted on the first package substrate, the first package substratehaving a first side constituting an outer peripheral region thereof,wherein a plurality of first electrode pads are disposed on a topsurface of the first package substrate as spaced from one another alongthe outer peripheral region of the first package substrate, a distancebetween two adjacent first electrode pads changes as the two adjacentfirst electrode pads are closer to a central region of the first side; asecond semiconductor package including a second package substrate and asecond semiconductor chip mounted on the second package substrate; and aplurality of connections electrically connecting the first semiconductorpackage and the second semiconductor package, the connections beingrespectively disposed on the first electrode pads.
 10. The stackedsemiconductor package of claim 9, wherein a first group of theconnections is disposed on the first electrode pads along the firstside.
 11. The stacked semiconductor package of claim 10, wherein thefirst package substrate has a second side constituting the outerperipheral region thereof, the distances between two adjacent secondelectrode pads are substantially the same along the second side.
 12. Thestacked semiconductor package of claim 11, wherein a second group of theconnections is disposed on the first electrode pads along the secondside.
 13. The stacked semiconductor package of claim 12, wherein theheights of the connections of the first group vary from a central to anouter region of the first side and the heights of the connections of thesecond group are substantially the same along the second side.
 14. Thestacked semiconductor package of claim 9, wherein the distance betweentwo adjacent first electrode pads increases as the two adjacent firstelectrode pads are closer to the central region of the first side. 15.The stacked semiconductor package of claim 9, wherein a plurality ofsecond electrode pads are disposed on a bottom surface of the secondpackage substrate and respectively electrically connected to theconnections.
 16. The stacked semiconductor package of claim 15, whereinthe connections each comprise: a plurality of first contact electrodesrespectively disposed on the first electrode pads; and a plurality ofsecond contact electrodes respectively disposed on the second electrodepads and respectively electrically connected to the first contactelectrodes.
 17. The stacked semiconductor package of claim 9, whereinthe areas of the first electrode pads exposed to the connections varyfrom a central to an outer region of the first side.
 18. The stackedsemiconductor package of claim 11, wherein the areas of the firstelectrode pads exposed to the connections are substantially the samealong the second side.
 19. The stacked semiconductor package of claim 9,wherein the first electrode pads are disposed in two or more rows alongthe outer peripheral region of the first package substrate.